Retail price falls for white pan and whole wheat bread

ASHINGTON — The average price paid for both white pan bread and whole wheat bread fell during May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The national average retail price of white pan bread was 135.9c, down 0.4c per lb from April and down 5.4c from May 2009. The price drop comes on the heels of a 0.5c decline in April, which marked the sharpest month-over-month decline since the price fell 1.9c in November 2009. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread rose in two regions — up 1.6c in the Midwest and up 0.7c in the South — and fell in two regions — down 4.1c in the Northeast and down 3.2c in the West.

At 178.6c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was down 3.5c per lb from April and down 9.9c per lb from May 2009. The 3.5c per lb decline was the sharpest since December 2009, when the price fell 5.2c month over month.

The national average price of family flour in May was 48.5c per lb, up 1.2c from April but down 3c from May 2009.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in May was 109.2c per lb, down 4c from April and down 8.2c from May 2009. Chocolate chip cookies were 327.1c per lb, up 13.3c from April and up 5c from May 2009.